Your Choice
by love bleeds red
Summary: Then he turned around and pointed down the last remaining road toward the south. “That road is what you want to make of it, a future, a family, a better life.” He smiled at her then walked away. Re-written.
1. Chapter 1

She watched his back as he moved further down the street. It wasn't supposed to end like this. She was just supposed to walk him to his hotel room and say good bye for what felt like the twentieth time. She angered him by what she told him, his reaction just proved her point.

Every month or so he came back and every time she put herself through hell as she gave her heart to him and he went back to his life in America. He had a good life there; he was successful, rich and had a family she was honestly jealous of. Losing her lover and next to one of her only friends made huge tears for in the corner of her eyes, it was akin to someone murdering him. She shook her head knowing she was being ridiculous; he was only using her now but it still hurt knowing she wouldn't see him again. There was a man at the bus stop singing an ironically sad song that was only making her tears fall harder. She tried to stop thinking about him and focused on the man seemingly strumming a song to her life at that moment.

The man had short hair and some scruff on his face. His clothes were a bit tattered as if he had been traveling for a while and just didn't care to change them. He stared at the ground as he sang softly. His eyes were very bright but looked worn beyond his age.

On a whim, she advanced towards him and took a seat on the bench next to him. She leaned backwards and closed her eyes as her head touched the Plexiglas of the covered bus stop. It all felt surreal, she was in one of those Hollywood movies but this one didn't end happily.

She just told the love of her life to never come and see her again, to forget her number and address and stop treating her as a mistress. She couldn't handle it anymore, she felt dirty and used. She also felt hopeless, as though she might never know true happiness.

"What's on your mind?"

Hermione had no idea where the voice came from. It was so quite and melted with the song so perfectly she wasn't sure if it was a question to her or a few lyrics. She opened her eyes and looked at the man softly strumming next to her. He was looking at her with a small smile on his face. She matched it with a timid smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Where do I go from here," she asked the man honestly.

He stopped strumming and pointed a calloused finger toward the east and toward the hotel she walked her love to. "That is your old life which will never be the same no matter how much you wished it could." He pointed toward the right where her house was. "That is where you will live a normal boring life that is monotonous and mundane. You may possibly discover something new down there but it is highly unlikely since when you are depressed you walk through life not actually seeing it." She was shocked by his knowledge but oddly was not perturbed by it. Then he turned around and pointed down the last remaining road toward the south. "That road is what you want to make of it, a future, a family, a better life. If you're lucky," he added softly, "maybe even happiness. He smiled at her then walked away letting her analyze his words.

She moved to stand up and looked down each road at her choices. She started walking toward the right but at the last second she headed south toward what she hoped was a new life like the man promised.

She really didn't believe anything would happen but she hoped the walk would give her time to think and forget what weighed so heavily on her mind. She walked down the busy street watching the people pass by. She loved people watching so she took a seat at a small café.

She sipped on tea for an hour as she watched happy people talk, kiss and laugh with each other. It was making her depressed watching all the happy people go on with their lives when she felt like hers just ended. She stood up and kept walking down the endless street.

After a long while of walking and losing herself in thought, she ran head long into a strong chest. Hands caught her before her bottom smacked the ground.

"Sorry I was lost in thought," she brushed herself free and looked up to see whom she ran into.

"It was my entire fault; I was not looking where I was going." He flashed a smile that made her knees weak.

"Malfoy," she questioned.

"Granger," he answered her question with his own. "What have you been doing since you left the Ministry?"

Hermione felt shy. She was going to tell him everything as they had made a lot of progress in the years since Hogwarts.

_**Flashback. **_

"Mr. Malfoy I would like you to meet your new partner. This is Hermione Granger; she just transferred from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"Should have known," she heard him mutter under his breath. "Thank you Mr. Hoffman I can take it from here," he said with out a sounding as he meant it in anyway.

Mr. Hoffman turned and took his leave from the crowded office. "So magical law enforcement, think you can handle it?"

"I am sure I can," she said as she raised her head high.

"My, testy, are we?" He took a seat at his desk and kicked his feet on it. "So what makes you so special? Besides being Potter's main woman and all, do you bring anything to the table?"

He looked smug with his smirk plastered across his face.

She cocked her head to the side and smirked herself. "Well I saw that when I walked in you were surprised but another emotion swept across your face in that split second he introduced me as your partner. You were scared and I am guessing that is because you think I am threatening your position and masculinity by being your partner."

He tried not to let the next emotion show but it slipped out for less than a millisecond.

"Now you are surprised I knew so much and even though you were trying to hide it, it always takes a second to mask emotions. I am sure you are wondering how I knew so much with out Occlumancy." She got close to his ear and whispered 'my little secret' into it.

The smirk fell from his face; he knew this was going to be a tense partnership.

_**End.**_

"Let's go for some lunch," he offered.

She smiled at him and walked beside him further down the road.


	2. Chapter 2

She looked up at him over the rim of her wine glass analyzing his face.

"Will you cut the bullshit Granger? I have worked with you for years, watched you for two decades and you want me to believe that? I know you have this wonderful skill of reading people but I am not blind I can see through your lies."

"What do you want to know," she whispered trying to remain calm. She placed her wine glass down a bit hard and stared at him.

"The truth. You think after all the shit we have been through I don't deserve that? I know that you don't trust many people and I know I am not even a person on your short list of these people but I do know something right now."

"Oh," she said cocking her head to the side. "And what's that," she added with an air of superiority.

"I am the only one you could talk to you that knows about your wizarding life. You kept in contact with no one." He leaned forward and touched her arm.

She stiffened and her breath hitched.

He leaned in close, "just talk," he whispered tickling her ear.

She jumped back and looked at him. "You want to know what's wrong with me?" She grabbed the glass that she placed on the table and threw it at the wall. It shattered and bits of wine dripped down the wall like tear drops. "I fucking hate wine," she screamed. He was smirking at her now. "I know you have known that since my first Ministry ball and yet here you are serving it to me."

She got up and went to his liquor cabinet pulling out a large bottle of fire whiskey and a glass. She turned towards him and leaned against the cabinet taking a large gulp of her warm drink.

Silence. She took a deep breath. She loved silence most of the time but at the moment it was louder than their combined voices. Her mind was racing with memories, good and bad of youth and adulthood. The decisions she has made whether good or regrettable were running mad showing how her life could have been if only she was as perfect as she acted. Well maybe it wasn't her, she didn't have control over most of the ghastly things that had happened to her and the ones she loved. If only she threw away that Hogwarts letter to pursue a normal, muggle life. In the back of her mind she knew if she had thrown it away the war would have come to the muggle world and affected her in another way. At least she wasn't powerless against magic when it affected her.

His voice moved her from her from her thoughts. He was looking up at her with a large smile on his face. "I never thought I would see the day that you snapped. So what is really the problem?"

She finished her drink and turned around to pour another, seemingly ignoring his question. He waited patiently knowing that she was going to need to down some liquid courage before she trusted herself enough to talk to him or anyone else for that matter. After a few large gulps she sighed and brought the bottle over to where she was previously sitting.

"You want to know something odd?" She asked in a soft, sad tone.

"Sure," he replied just as softly.

"I have trusted you since our first mission." She smiled sadly and looked up at him.

_**Flashback February 23rd 2002**_

Draco dropped a large file on Hermione's desk making a tall stack of folders shift sideways and spill there contents.

"Really Malfoy? You could be a bit more considerate of others." She sighed as she straitened the mess he made.

"You could have another filing cabinet," he retorted sarcastically. "Or you could remember you are a witch and maybe enlarge the one you have," he added with distaste.

She blushed in embarrassment, ducking her head to conceal her blunder. "Well maybe we should get people to turn themselves in before they do something bad," she said in annoyance opening the large file. A picture of a handsome man stared back at her winking several times. He had perfect teeth and well groomed black hair with piercing dark eyes and an olive completion. She couldn't place where she had seen this dashing man before but could tell by the way his hands were moving he was manipulating whom ever he was talking to.

She looked up suddenly straight at Draco. "Who was he talking to when this photo was taken?"

He looked surprised by the question but moved closer toward her to get a better look. "I believe it was the Deputy Mistress of Magic."

"Are you talking about Ava Berkeley?"

"Yes I believe this photo was taken a few months before she went missing." She wasn't looking at him but she could hear the reservation and sadness in his voice when he talked about her.

"I need more photos of him and some of her," she demanded moving the picture aside to read the file losing her self in her work. "I also need a picture of all his victims and a list of the similarities of each. I would also like a missing persons report on anyone who fits the profile of his known victims."

Draco stared at her with disbelief. "Did you really just order me to do that? Who do you think you are? You are no one special in my eyes and just because the Minister of Magic is fond of you does not mean I am you personal secretary."

She looked up at him, bored. "Are you done yet," she asked rhetorically. "Look," she said calming herself. "I know you do not like me being your partner or me 'being' in general but we have to work together and honestly I need your help. I cannot be expected to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together by myself and I know you are a bit more acquainted with this file than I am. Now instead of wasting time while I read the whole thing it would be easier if you go and do those things. Please," she emphasized. "It will not help just me but us and our investigation."

"Why do you need pictures of her? He had nothing to do with her disappearance someone already confessed." He seemed withdrawn and his head creased with sadness before being replaced by his normal mask.

"Please trust me," she whispered.

He didn't want to talk about it anymore and walked away to see what he could do.

She looked back at the file.

**Name: Blaise Zabini**

**Age: 22**

**Charges: 13 counts of murder, kidnapping, rape and 4 counts of torture. Suspect in the disappearances of at least 27 other women since 1996.**

**Last Known Location: Scotland**

**Sightings: United States, New Zealand, Ireland, Brazil, Holland, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, France, Greece, Australia **

**History: Born to Ambrosia Zabini who was widowed 9 times before her premature death at 42 in 1996. Father unknown. Attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but failed to graduate due to the fact he was a known Death Eater and fled after the Dark Lords defeat. Turned himself in on March 11th 2000 as a reformed Death Eater. Cooperated with questioning and released. Accused in December of 2001 of the above stated charges.**

Hermione quickly read the file. She was shocked and disgusted not only at the description of his heinous acts but the fact she went to school with him and lived in the same castle as him as he murdered innocent women.

"Granger," came a demanding voice.

"Yes," she whispered staring at the file not wanting to look up and show him her tear stained eyes.

"I got what you were looking for and with the help of a few interns it only took two hours."

She jerked her head up from the file, "It's been that long?"

"Yes," he said dully not wanting to upset her while she looked so fragile. "Are you going to tell me why you needed pictures of Ava?" His forehead wrinkled in sadness again.

"Because Blaise Zabini murdered her."

He looked at her oddly and grabbed her roughly by the arm leading her to another room. He slammed the door shut and cast a charm around it.

He moved within an inch of her face and whispered. "I know you are new and all but you need to leave well enough alone. A man came in and confessed," he roared turning from her flailing his arms above his head. "He led us to the body and told **them** the atrocious things he did to her. Now forget about her and find this piece of shit."

Hermione was taken aback by the outburst and the passion this man showed for Ava but she was to curious to keep her mouth shut. "You loved her didn't you?" She said softly as a statement more than a question.

In a blur her back was slammed against a wall, a wand was at her throat and pressure against her chest preventing her from breathing.

"Listen to me closely." His voice came out hoarse and his breath jagged. "If we are to work together you need to stop reading me the way you do. I am your partner save that shit for the enemy. Now leave her out of your mind. We have the man who did it and that is that."

Hermione was trembling but she was more stubborn than scared. "But she co…"

"I said drop it," he screamed as he dropped her.

"No," she defied him getting to her feet. "I need to talk to this man."

"Then look for it yourself and leave me out of it." He sighed, defeated and heart broken he walked out of the room.

Her last intention was to hurt him but she had to investigate it. It was her job and this case could depend on this one victim. Even though she kept telling herself that she still wondered if she subconsciously was doing this out of curiosity.

She shook her head maybe it was to uncover more about Malfoy. Not knowing everything about her own partner bothered her more than she would let on. She wasn't sure if it was the fact she was supposed to trust him with her life on the word of others or she was just plain nosy. She frowned not knowing the answer to her own curiosity.

_**End Flashback**_

"Honestly before the day you dropped that folder on my desk I would have never thought twice about you. I hardly thought you were human back then. I was only twenty-two and the cuts you made in school were too deep and hadn't healed. It could have been because we never talked before then or the fact that I blamed you for much more than you really were guilty of but after that day the cuts turned into scars. You want to know something horrible? I blamed you for Harry's death up till we found Zabini and your walls broke." She was looking sadly at the floor through her glass of fire whiskey. Regretting being so stubborn and cold hearted at that time she was no better than a Death Eater thinking of him in such a way.

"For some odd reason I knew you blamed me for more than I have done but I never thought I had made you trust me. I have trusted two people in my life and one is dead. You are the second but I could never tell you for the fear you might reject me or laugh at me or be cruel and use it to your advantage." He had begun to drink the fire whiskey that was next to Hermione. "I appreciate everything you have done for me more than you might know." His face went blank as he looked at an old picture on the wall. The room was silent for a while as they mulled over their own thoughts.

The last coherent thought he had was wishing he could have protected her from more while they had worked together. He felt he had failed her.


	3. Chapter 3

She awoke to a strong arm wrapped around her neck pulling her closer to a warm body. She moved to her back to ease the pain in her neck, she hated when he put his arm there it always threw her neck out. This caused him to stir slightly and roll half of his large body onto her petite frame. She struggled to push the dead weight off as he started snoring loudly in her ear. He had always been a hard sleeper but when she kneed him in the side he awoke grunting.

"Must you always crush me in the mornings," she asked in a mock-annoyed voice.

"Just trying to make you wake up earlier so you can make me breakfast." He flashed a large grin at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Well if you didn't keep me awake with that incessant snoring I might get enough sleep to want to." She moved from under the covers and walked into his bathroom. She was naked except for her underwear and he watched as her bottom moved slightly swaying.

"You kept this?" She stuck her head out of the bathroom and waved a toothbrush.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Not telling." He said and moved to roll over and fall back to sleep.

"I will just get you drunk and force it out of you."

He smiled knowing she was all to right. Most of the talks they had shared were filled with alcohol. That was the only time he would open up to her and vice-versa. The war was hard on him and he wasn't good with his emotions so he drank and so did she. She could drink most men under the table but when she was with him, she would drink a little so she didn't forget a word he said and maybe because she was scared she would slip and talk to him. Last night was a rare, she talked and drank more than him.

Years ago, she would spend countless nights with him listening, waiting for him to open up and when he finally did she spent till dawn listening to him till he fell asleep but she never did the same. She missed those days but university and his crazy hours kept them from seeing much of each other until they final lost contact all together. It was hard to be in contact when she was living mostly as a muggle and him as a wizard.

She walked to his bed and pulled on her crumpled clothes. She rolled onto his bed and stuck her head into his pillow. She missed that smell so much. She felt great comfort in the scent on herself. She put her arm over him to get him out of bed.

"Come on. Up. I need some breakfast and eye drops and maybe a beer." She said to his back.

"What are eye drops?" He asked while shifting to his back.

She wrinkled her head in thought sure she had explained them to him before. "They are little drops of liquid I drop into my eyes when they burn like they are now. At least my eyes aren't puffy, glad I had my wand to fix that."

"That sounds painful. I have gotten water in my eyes plenty of times and it hurts."

She giggled, "it is not water, it is a solution like your tears. I am not going to get into it all now so I will just force you to try some."

"Oh and how do you expect to do that?" With that he rolled on top of her and pinned her down. "You are too weak." He added while smiling down at her.

She moved her head to the side acting like she was thinking. "I could knee you in one place I know will make you crumble." She moved her head to the other side and smirked at him.

"Fine you win," he said and moved to adjust his boxers and make his way into the bathroom himself.

He found her a few minutes later standing in his kitchen hydrating herself with water from the faucet. He stood next to her and she offered him the glass, which he accepted and drank from.

"Well let's go before it gets too late. I still have some better things to do today." She added sarcastically. "Laundry, work, maybe a little pinning." She checked off each one on her fingers.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he said as he pushed her toward the door.

XxXxXxXx

Hermione sat at the restaurant holding a beer in one hand and a newspaper in the other. "Are you serious?" She asked mostly to herself. "I thought this would never happen. With all the appeals and bullshit he was pulling I thought he would die in Azkaban." There were tears in her eyes and she was starting to shake slightly.

He had a hard, guarded look on his face as he watched her reaction. He found out a few weeks ago but had no one to tell. It relieved him but brought more sadness to his heart as old wounds were reopened.

"When is it?"

"Three days."

"Can I go with you?"

"Yes but I warn you I will be drunk."

"That is nothing new. I will be with you on that level. You know I haven't seen him since…" She turned silent as a large lump formed in her throat. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for…" He quieted her with a look and raised his glass to hers.

"Forgetting old scars," he whispered. "A new beginning," he added. A bit cliché he knew but he hoped it was for the better.

"So on a lighter note tell me about your new job."

"It is crazy, I love it but it is hard at times. When we worked together, we found the people who committed crimes and when we saw what they did we were a bit disconnected from it. Now I never see the criminals I see what they have done and it affects me differently than I thought it would. I do feel though that I am helping people the same if not more. When someone dies though it is harder because I knew them for the few minutes, their life was in my hands." She was quiet for a moment as she thought about being a doctor. "It was different when we got a call and saw someone that had already passed. The connection was gone when we got there." She sighed and took another sip of her beer. "That was why I needed to leave. I needed to help in a different way."

"Why didn't you become a healer then?"

She looked past him for a moment remembering something from a bittersweet age ago. "I had nothing left in the wizarding world except you but I thought our relationship would transcend that, it turns out we couldn't. I got busy with my studies and after all the missed calls we both received it just fizzled out. My parents are gone, Harry is gone, Ron left me, and my relationship with Ginny ended soon after Harry's death." She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and inhaled deeply. "I am sorry."

"So am I but it doesn't have to stay that way. When do you work next and will you be able to take those days off?"

She smiled at him and leaned her head on his shoulder, opening her mouth to respond but a bright flash caught her attention. A sickly thin woman strode over to their table with a note pad in her hand.

"Oh Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, how lovely to see you out together. It has been so long." She smiled sweetly as her quill scribbled furiously.

Hermione rolled her eyes and bowed her head and Malfoy stiffened and shifted in his seat.

"Skeeter," he growled. "What brings your rotting hide to this upscale part of town? I know you can't afford anything here so you must be sticking your nose where it shouldn't be." Hermione snickered at his attitude, it had been so long since she had seen that side of him.

"Oh it has been to long Miss Granger. You must fill me in on everything since your heartbreak. It must have been so hard." She sighed and pulled a seat next to Hermione completely ignoring Draco for the moment.

Hermione snorted in the woman's face, swallowed the rest of her beer and stood to leave. Draco mimicked her last two actions and followed her down the street. Skeeter would not be deterred that easily, she followed them throwing questions at their backs.

Draco's cool façade was cracking at this highly annoying woman who had hurt him in the past with her callous headlines. In his last stitch effort to keep his anger in control he commented on how he could arrest her for harassment but she ignored him.

Hermione could hear the change in his voice and put her hand on his shoulder to calm him, which resulted in another flash from behind them.

Draco cracked and turned around, wand pointed at the woman behind him. "You are under arrest for harassment of a ministry official."

"What," she screeched.

"I will be confiscating your possessions for review by the Wizengamot and you will be held for ten days before we come up with a trial date." Before he had a chance to do anything she was gone with a pop. "I knew that would scare her off." He smiled at Hermione and offered her his arm.

She took it and smiled up at him. "I can't wait to see that headline. Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted I am off for the summer."

"Well that being the case I am taking you hostage for the summer. We both need vacations and to catch up."

"Fine," she said stomping her foot as if she was unhappy but had a glowing smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

_**October 2001: First Mission**_

Hermione looked at him curiously and he sensed what was coming next: a question. He had watched her face a thousand times, the way her eyes would widen and light up and her brows would hide in her bushy hairline. Her questions would always annoy him in school and he was sure they would do the same now. Draco set down an ancient looking folder and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's going to be your first assignment." He groaned and closed his eyes answering before he had to hear her disdainful voice. "I hope you have been reading up on vampires because we only have a small window to catch this one." He shut the folder and handed it to her. "Be careful with it and try to finish reading it by the end of the day. We will have to leave before seven if we want to get dinner."

He got up to take his leave and heard her inhale to ask her a question. "I am going to get some Pepper-up potion we are probably going awake for awhile," he said before the words could form in her throat. She closed her mouth and went to open the delicate file.

**Name: Unknown**

**Age: Unknown**

**Charges: Unknown counts of murder**

**Last Known Location: Brazil, 1952**

**Sightings: Over the course of the last documented 500 years: Every country**

**History: Unknown. We can not be sure when he was sired or whom he was sired by. Every hundred years or so he prays on children. When he is seen around wizarding schools 3 to 4 students go missing, usually females. Has only sired on vampire who was captured and put to death in 1378.**

She read some of the other old parchments, most of them were thoughts on where he came from, if he sired anyone they hadn't found and why he prayed in children every century or so. They hypothesized he was either one of the original vampires of sired by one of them. Some thought he sired rogue vampires to roam the world and cause terror but the most popular belief was that he sired one woman who was killed by wizards in 1378, the only one worthy for him, as some put it. Why he preyed on children though was a mystery to them still. No one found any logical thought on why he would go to schools every hundred years or so.

When she got to the end of the file she saw a small piece of paper stuck to it . In neat cursive she read:_ 1899 Caprica School, Australia_

Draco was in his seat when she finally looked up from the folder. Her face mirrored the expression she had in fourth year when the boggart came out of the cupboard as McGonagall and told her she failed everything. She started when she finally saw him in his seat and went to ask him a question. He again beat her to it and started talking as soon as her mouth formed the pucker to ask what. "Most of the vampires that still roam the earth a monitored by the ministries of the countries they are from, as you would know while working in the regulation department," he added with a dismissive hand gesture. "You know they are in close contact because of missing people and unexplained murders. It seems now though he has been sighted by some vampires near London and from the information we have gotten he is headed north,"

Hermione understood what he meant by his little speech. Caprica was the wizarding academy of Australia that was attacked a little over a hundred years ago and if he was headed north the implications were dire.

"We have two or three nights before he reaches the castle. He placed a vile of potion on her desk. "We aren't going to be home for awhile you should get some clothes and anything else you think we might need. Meet me by the flo room in two hours."

Hermione nodded but her brain was working so she stayed silent as she got up to leave. Everything she could possibly need to fight a vampire was running through her minds. She would need books, weapons and a large amount potions for various things.

She was running around making sure she hadn't missed anything when she realized the time. She slid next to Draco a little late and panting for breath. "It's okay. Let's get going," he finished before she could breathe out an apology. She stared at his back as he stepped into the fireplace, annoyed she hadn't gotten out 2 words the whole day. It was as if he knew what she was going to say and was just one step ahead of her the whole day. She sighed, stepped in and was whisked off to Hogwarts.

She came to land right behind Draco in the headmistress's office. McGonagall stood from behind the desk, greeted them and offered chairs and tea, which they gladly accepted. She had arranged the office back in order after Severus died to resemble when Dumbledore was headmaster. The little trinkets were buzzing away and making odd noises that made memories rush back to Hermione of childhood. She could smell the treats Dumbledore would keep hidden in his desk and as she shut her eyes to inhale the scent she saw his twinkling eyes looking back at her.

McGonagall looked over her tea at them, "so I am guessing you are here on ministry business." It wasn't a question as the Headmistress sensed the seriousness in the air. Hermione was pulled away from her happy memories and into the pressing situation that was happening in reality.

"I am sorry to inform you of this but we have reason to believe a very old, dangerous vampire is coming here. We are afraid students might be in danger of his thirst." Draco said softly not trying to sugar coat the situation. Hermione was slightly agitated by the way he put it so bluntly but couldn't help but think how true it was.

The headmistress gasped and put her hand over her heart, "how can you be so sure," she exhaled.

For the first time that day Hermione got a chance to speak. "He has been seen heading north and it is a…" she paused for a second looking for the right words. "Well habit of his to attack students every hundred years or so. We think in three nights or so he will reach the castle."

"So what is your plan to protect my students? None of our wards will protect the school against vampires."

"Well we need you to lock the school securely when it gets dark. No students should be allowed on the grounds unless it is for classes and even then they should be escorted by a staff member. We will bring as many people as we can to secure the castle but we do not have the manpower to secure the ground as well." Draco pulled out a map to the school and a long list, handing it to McGonagall she took it and read over it quickly.

She looked up at the clock and back down to the list. "We will implicate the changes as soon as dinner is finished. I will get you rooms and set a meeting for the staff after you are settled." She sighed and looked around the room unsettled. "For now let's go to dinner and discuss this later." The headmistress stood and offered the open door to the duo. They walked silently down to the Great Hall thinking about a different time when they roamed the halls.

When she stepped into the hall for a moment she thought she was 15 again and instinctively looked toward the Gryffindor table for Ron and Harry. Sadness hit her hard as she realized she was really 22 and her best friend was gone forever. She felt pinpricks in her eyes, a heaviness engulfed her chest and her throat closed up. She grasped at the Headmistress and caught her arm pulling her. "I am sorry but I feel faint is there anyway I can go to the room now and get the dinner brought to me," she whispered into her ear.

McGonagall gave a small nod and walked her out of the hall calling for Winky to help.

XxXxXxXx

The next thing she remembered was opening her eyes to complete blackness. She shot up straight, disoriented she pulled out her wand and successfully fell off her make shift bed. She whispered making the room light up and instantly she figured out where she was.

Looking up she screamed, Draco was sitting in a chair staring at her.

"What in bloody hell do you think you are doing?"

He looked calmly at her and smirked, "I was sleeping until you woke me up. It seems I fell asleep reading and the fire burnt out."

She looked around and noticed the food Winky had brought her was forgotten on the table. She must have fell asleep while she was crying. Then she noticed the blanket that was now strewn across her legs and the pillow where her head rested.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I am not used to sleeping anywhere but home." She stood up and gathered her things moving toward a room never thanking him for the things he did for her or the fact that there was no book in sight.

**Sorry for the filler chapter but the next one will be posted soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**First Mission… Continued…**_

The morning came to quickly for Hermione, it felt like only minutes ago she had closed her eyes. She jumped out of bed and dressed quickly; walking into the common room area she found Draco sitting there staring at a book with a piece of toast in his hand.

Sitting down across from him she grabbed a plate for herself and started writing up a plan. It would be easy for this vampire to enter through one of the passages so they would need people posted at each one; all the dorms except Slytherin had windows so they would need to move the students into the center of the castle for their safety at night. A few more ideas crossed her mind and she scribbled them down as well; looking up at Draco she was about to say something when she realized he wasn't there.

She looked down at the book he had been reading taking in a few upside down paragraphs. It was a very old and large volume on the origination of vampires her eyes crossed over the page again. 'No one can be sure but it is speculated that if the sire is killed then all vampires will cease to exist. Where the problem lies is finding him even after all the interviews the oldest vampires don't remember who sired them. It seems they are to old to remember their human lives, seeing as they have no human left in them I can understand how easy it would be to forget them. The flaw in this logic is when you kill any vampire the ones they have cursed willingly or unwillingly still lead the lives of vampires, they do not turn human again or spontaneously combust.' This last sentence set Hermione on a train of thought that she could not seem to break both muggle and wizard answers popped into her mind. This had to be the reason they called her the brightest witch, she had the best of both worlds at her finger tips and had enough logic to combine them and use them.

XxXxXxXx

By the end of the two days Hermione's head was spinning. She had taken control of the castle and hopefully the students were now safer than before. There were people posted all over the castle and no one was getting onto the grounds without herself or Draco knowing about them she even had the Marauder's map but wasn't sure if she would be able to see someone who was by all accounts dead even though he was living.

As the end of her shift approached she saw her relief walking towards her and she sighed. She was ridiculously sleep deprived to the point she was nauseas and her body cried for relief but she knew she would not fall asleep knowing the danger that lurked in the shadows. The sun was now beginning to stretch over the horizon and she felt a bit of relief that another night had passed without incident.

The door to her room clicked shut softly and she sprawled herself on her bed fully clothed. It was dark in her room and she was glad she might get a few hours of sleep as she put her head between the center of her pillows.

She shot straight up in her bed with her wand firing stunning spells into one corner of her room. Her wardrobe exploded into a million splinters and her vanity mirror followed soon after. She was sending spells all around her room yet she could not actually see if there was a threat. Her wand moved to the curtains which were violently ripped from their place to rest on the floor.

A sliver of sun shot through the room and landed on the one thing she hoped she wouldn't have to face on her own, yet there he was smiling sickly at her. A million thoughts ran through her mind but the one screaming the loudest was questioning her sanity, there was no way he was standing in the corner of her room let alone having the sun shine on his sickly colored skin. She threw more spells at him but even as he didn't seem to move he somehow dodge them all. She knew that it was hopeless. This being in front of her was beyond even her remarkable skills.

He just looked at her with curiosity. He stood about six feet tall with black hair and porcelain skin yet it wasn't completely white it had an olive under tone that made him look sick and a bit yellowish in the light. His perfect white teeth were showing in a miserable excuse for a smile; at the corners of his mouth she could see two teeth with points hanging a bit lower than the rest. The differences between Hermione and this creature were plain and made a shiver run down her spine as her eyes dilated. Hermione had never seen a person hunt before but this is what she imagined a murder looked like before he took a life.

She really didn't know what to do anymore, spells were useless when you couldn't even hit your target, running was not an option as he was blocking the door, jumping threw the window would never work as it was far to high. So she pointed her wand quickly at the ground and an explosion of rock blew from under her feet and she fell, landing in an unused classroom with the rest of the ruble. She knew that it wouldn't slow him down she just hoped enough people heard her to come and find her. He was next to her in a flash, ripping her from the ground and straight threw the castle wall. Even though they were 25 stories up he landed effortlessly on the ground. She looked up and saw heads popping out of the hole in the side of the castle. The Aurors stationed on the ground ran at them but he was far to quick and within a blink of an eye they were in the woods.

She was now screaming and thrashing about but he held her over his shoulder not even flinching as she stabbed his skin with the burning tip of her wand. When she withdrew it from his skin she noticed the mark went away instantly.

She decided that her wand was useless so she stuck it in her bra hoping he wouldn't take it and as she did they reached a clearing. She figured that with how fast he moved and how long they traveled they were easily more than 20 miles into the dense woods. She could hear no birds with their morning songs and no animals scurrying about with their business. Looking to the right she noticed a giant boulder that was now being moved to the side by the thing that kidnapped her. Then he was at her side leading her into what she assumed was where he decided to set up camp to hunt children. He sat her on a damp rock and moved the boulder back to its original spot. It was now black inside the damp cave but as she started to get frightened of the space closing in on her a lighter was flicked and a torch was lit.

She knew she was going to die, there was nothing she could do about it.

Her stomach was knotted and she felt bile rising in her throat. She felt like she was going to explode with fear but she knew to appear calm. If she couldn't convince him not to kill her with her wand skill maybe she could use her best asset, her mind. She stayed quiet waiting for him to address her first.

He moved to a different part of the cave where he seemed to have placed a battered couch. If she thought that was odd she never showed it as she got up from her uncomfortable rock and moved to the springy couch.

He just stood to the side watching her every movement with a predatory satisfaction. He could sense something was special with this one which was why he didn't kill her immediately, he never played with his food but maybe she wouldn't be his dinner.

Hermione was staring at him when he started to smirk and she thought she felt her heart explode as the blood rushed threw her body and screamed through her ears. She knew her face was flushed with fear but she still stayed quiet, waiting.

He said something in a foreign language and she racked her brain to figure out what language it was but she had never heard anything like it before.

"Excuse me," she said softly, her voice betraying her fear as she tried not to stutter.

"Ahh," he stated in a cracked and broken voice he continued. "English is what they speak in this region. I haven't been here in a very long time." It was clear to Hermione that this was the first time he had used his voice in a long time and that confused her. Why would he decide to talk to her of all people after so many years of hunting in silence? This could be good news she thought hopefully then shot herself down knowing better than to get her own hopes up.

"I know you need some rest, I have seen you for days working without very much. I want to talk to you when you wake. You should change that couch into something more comfortable for sleep."

She did as she was told knowing full well she might not wake up from where ever her dreams took her but she knew there it would be next to impossible for her to fall asleep and if she didn't die by him the torch being lit would suffocate her before she woke. She climbed into the now large bed and he came over to her. Touching her forehead he whispered in his strange language and instantly she fell asleep. Blowing out the torch he went to leave her locked in his cave while he hunted for a decent meal.

XxXxXxXx

The whole time she slept she dreamed of her kidnapping. She relived every little detail she could from midnight the night before to the cave. But now she was awake laying in the bed trying hard to fall back asleep because she didn't want to know the ending just yet.

"I know you are awake. I have been waiting 100's of years for you and I want to know all about you I can." He sat her up and brought her to the entrance of the cave. Leading her out into the clearing he sat on a log and motioned for her to join him.

She was puzzled. He wanted to know about her? She really didn't know what to say. What do you say to an evil creature who has just kidnapped you and might possibly kill you in the next few moments? She breathed in as if to say something but only a billow of warm air came out of her open mouth. He sat there just looking at her, not seeming to care she couldn't form any actual words. She tried a few more times until a strangled squeak came from her throat and she formed a word. "Why?"

His face never changed he seemed unperturbed by her question but he did not answer her right away just looking at her. She felt like he was trying to etch her in his memory and drinking in her whole being. She shivered.

He then abruptly stood and offered his hand to her. She looked sideways up to him slightly confused but she still offered him her hand. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "I am Sin." She choked as her eyes widened. "Well that is at least how you say it in your language." He pulled a stick off the ground and drew some symbols in the dirt. "This," he said pointing at his work, "is what it would look like if you were from my time."

She looked to what he had drawn and there were a few triangles connected by lines. "What language would that be?" She whispered, puzzled at what she was looking at.

"Ahh," he said like he had just discovered something interesting. "Well, that is what you would call Sumerian."

Her mind started kicking into gear but what he had just told her was impossible. "Th-that's im-mpossible." She breathed in trying to understand it all. "That language disappeared in 3 million BC. That … that would mean you are…"

"The oldest living thing," he offered.


	6. Chapter 6

_**First Mission… Continued… **_

Everything was set out in front of her. A perfect little buffet of knowledge. She could know everything she ever wanted about anything and she would have all the time in the world to study it and master it and tweak it however she liked but it all came at a very large price that she was sure she couldn't pay.

After Hermione got over her initial shock and had realized he wasn't going to kill her, at least in the near future, she had relaxed and talked in the clearing with him.

_What would it hurt?_ She thought glumly. _At least my last few hours won't be filled with misery._

She studied him, like she would a human, looking for facial or vocal signs of emotion, but he was frighteningly void of anything that seemed human.

"I know what you are looking for." He stated startling her from her thoughts. She jumped a bit but raised an eyebrow hoping he would continue. "It has been millennia since I have been human the emotions you are looking for might have existed at one time but I just don't feel them anymore. I can mimic human emotions well, if I care to, but there is no emotion behind it, it might just be a bit less frightening for you." With that his face completely changed. if she hadn't know she would think he was any other person walking down a city street, albeit a little pale. His eyes gained a new life every muscle in his face seemed to switch on and instead of staring at a predator she was looking at a very handsome young man.

He smiled at her and she couldn't help but blush and smile at him. "I know you are really conflicted and I gave you a hard choice but you are going to have to choose soon. Your friends seem to think they will find you in the forest and they are now planning a rescue mission."

Hermione frowned. So when it was all said and done she could be the smartest most powerful being in the world with all the knowledge that has came and could come from humanity at her finger tips but she would have to give up her most valued prize. Her humanity. Would she become like the form in front of her, not guided by her own heart but by instinct and a thirst for knowledge. She wrinkled her head in thought and looked at the ground. Not to mention she would have to kill other humans just to stay alive and that was something that she could never live with. She couldn't kill a thousand people just to stay alive forever. It was selfish and Hermione was not a selfish person. She looked up knowing her answer and excepting the fact that she was now going to die because of it.

He was smiling at her. It wasn't a sick or twisted smile that a hunter would give its prey. It was a genuine smile showing his teeth but hiding the points well. She faltered and before she could even open her mouth to answer he was biting her neck.

Instead of pain she felt bliss. It was like god himself was touching her, breathing on her neck, making her feel whole. She had to have been missing something in her life because she had never felt anything fill her up so completely and make her feel so happy, joyous and blissful. It felt like the happiness would just explode out of her and blind anyone around her. Her body was tingling, every nerve was being activated all at once, over loading her mind and making it buzz in satisfaction. She relaxed, laying her arms around his neck and pulling him in closer to her.

Then it was all ripped away and she felt like she would never feel anything again. A part of her soul seemed to be missing and she was overcome with sadness. She felt weak, she couldn't move on her own nor could she hear, the darkness was starting to cloud her vision and she fell off the stump she had been resting on. She didn't even notice, she could only feel the immense pain in her heart. She stayed on the ground just looking at the sky wishing the darkness would take her and return the blissful feeling that had been there only a moment ago.

Then she felt something, it was small at first but she was sure she could feel something dripping into her mouth. It tasted like she was sucking on a knut but it seemed the feeling was returning to her again. She could feel her arms and legs and see more clearly. Flashes took her vision away again and she felt like she was now floating. _I must be dead,_ she thought,_ this is pleasant._ Hermione then realized she wasn't herself, she was walking through visions of another persons life, like in a pensive but more lucid.

_He awoke in a small cave hunger ripping his insides but it wasn't normal hunger it was something odd. He found a rat and bit it, it had an odd unsatisfying taste so he ventured out further from his cave. He stumbled upon a woman alone picking fruit in a field. He snuck up behind her and bit into her neck. Her taste filled the void in his torso, she didn't scream nor fight, she accepted her fate as soon as his blissful lips touched her skin…_

_He was being worshipped, everything he wanted was given to him with a whisper of breath, a quick movement of his fingers. He was bored. The thrill of the chase and toying with his pray was gone. They wanted him to take their life away, it was an honor…_

_He was watching a girl reading, she was wearing light blue with two golden wands crossed over her top left breast. She appeared to be at least 16 with perfectly curly golden locks framing her face. She looked straight into his eyes but couldn't see past the window she was looking into. When she was sleeping he took her and changed her. She was the first he changed that was by choice and not an accident from when he was younger and was clumsy with his powers. He was happy to have a mate to walk the world with, he would never be alone… She had left him, she was mad with power, killing anything and anyone she pleased, he was upset. She multiplied the vampire population to over 300 in a matter of a few years and he was left to clean up the mess she was making… He was going to kill her, she wasn't his anymore, she wasn't the innocent girl he took all those years ago that was thirsting for knowledge. She turned into a monster. What did he expect? Maybe one person was never meant to have this power… He was closing in on her. He almost had her. There was a shuffle, twenty men jumped around her, they were there to kill her too. She easily fought most of them off but while she was distracted with two of the men another with jet black hair and green eyes popped up out of no where and staked her in the heart. He felt something but it was not sadness, more like disappointment that he was not the one to finish her. _

Hermione gasped loudly and jumped off of her earthen bed, looking around her she noticed she was alone. She looked down at the ground:

**I already know your choice.**

**But I thought you deserved a gift.**

She looked at her own hands she felt oddly god like. She was still alive, she could feel her heart beating, feel the tears in her eyes and the blood rushing in her ears but something was off. The wind blew past her and the smells that came with it almost made her faint. She oddly wondered if what she was smelling was what a bloodhound would follow while on the search for something.

She took off into the woods blindly, running full speed into the darkness, she leaped nimbly over logs and dodged tree braches with ease. Following the smell she came to a screeching halt when she almost smashed into a small group of people.

Draco had his wand at her throat and a stake at her heart. She took a deep breath, he was the smell she had followed. She smiled. He instantly dropped the stake and pulled her into a large hug. At first she was stiff as a board, not knowing how she should take this show of affection but then she relaxed and hugged him tightly.

She had never felt move alive.


End file.
